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ET Phone Home!

I had not intended to title this post in this way, but it seems perfect actually!The last few days I've found myself moping around, feeling sorry for myself for various reasons, and then - as often happens in these situations, I came across a quote that I totally resonated with and which reminded me of something Frans Stiene, my Reiki teacher would most likely say. It is a quote by the great Buddhist teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche:

"Hold the sadness and pain of samsara in your heart,

and at the same time the power and vision

of the Great Eastern Sun.

Then the warrior can make a proper cup of tea."

Life is about balance. We cannot live our lives devoid of sadness and pain, but as two of my weekly prayer buddies observed this afternoon, it is about being able to step back and look at things without being caught up in the drama - or viewing things with the dispassion and detachment I've spoken of recently in my posts here, that makes the difference in our lives. And that is one of meditation's many gifts.I very much related to this quote. When I read it this morning, it spoke directly to my heart. It was embedded in a newsletter, by Pema Chödrön, that was just as equally insightful.I felt naked in her presence - as if she were staring at me and speaking specifically to me. She ended her short but poignant essay with these words:

"If you can live with the sadness of human life

(what Rinpoche often called the tender heart

or genuine heart of sadness),

if you can be willing to feel fully

and acknowledge continually your own sadness

and the sadness of life,

but at the same time not be drowned in it,

because you also remember the vision

and the power of the Great Eastern Sun,

you experience balance and completeness,

joining heaven and earth,

joining vision and practicality."

My Reiki Teacher, constantly speaks of the Reiki meditation practices he has taught us, which are Buddhist in origin, as practices that truly join the realms of heaven and earth, and enable us to experience that place of oneness where healing and connection with others can take place. (I assure you - he is much more eloquent in this description!)I stared at this paragraph, knowing I had allowed myself to wallow in the sadness, even drowning in it, all the while knowing what it was that I was doing - refusing to acknowledge and remember the Light that is my true essence - but is also at the heart and essence of everyone under the Great Eastern and Western Sun as well! In this place where the suns collide and heaven and earth merge - we are always one, whether we see it or not!Just as I was staring at this paragraph, telling myself I had to truly take time to masticate it, and then digest and embody it - the phone rang. (Yes, this is the ET part you've been waiting for!)I ran into the other room to pick up the phone. (Yes, I know it's archaic - it was a landline!) I looked at the phone - and I saw my name on it. And the number that was calling - was my home phone number! What? My number was calling my number? I looked at it again, totally confused. Finally, I hit the answer button, and the line went dead.This just did not make sense. I ran to look at my cell phone that was idly charging itself in my bedroom, totally oblivious to my confusion. It made no such call to my home phone. (No Siri did not tell me this!)Maybe this wasn't really ET phoning home - but it was me - calling ME - on my landline!I stopped in my tracks. And then I thought - this is a message to me. This weird experience was like someone taking me by the shoulders, shaking me and saying: "Hey! YOU! Yes ,you! Pay attention to the message that you've just been given!"I'm still wrapping my brain around this one, but I've printed out the entire newsletter, so that I can place it in my heart, to let it simmer there, until its teachings truly become fragrant and take hold!

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Who am I? I think of myself as a mystic and semi-contemplative first. I've had a rich and diverse life - as the daughter, granddaughter and niece to diplomats. Towards the end of my career teaching theology and spirituality for 25 years, I became both a Certified Yoga Teacher and Reiki practitioner and teacher in the Northern Virginia area. I have a doctoral degree in spirituality and education, and these areas remain a great passion of mine.